"an animal. The animals are, in order: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. 2008 was the year of the Rat, 2009 Ox, 2010 Tiger, 2011 Rabbit, 2012 Dragon, and 2013 was the year of the Snake. Famous characters like Snoopy, (2006) and other cartoon characters like Mickey and Minnie Mouse, (2008) have been especially popular in their celebrated years. Addressing is generally done by hand, and is an opportunity to demonstrate one's handwriting (see ""shodō""). The postcards may have spaces for the sender to write a personal message. Blank cards are available, so"
"The rat (sometimes referred to as a mouse) is the first of the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac. People born in this year are expected to possess qualities associated with rats, including creativity, intelligence, honesty, generosity, ambition, a quick temper and wastefulness. People born in a year of the rat are said to get along well with ""monkeys"" and ""dragons"", and to get along poorly with ""horses"". In Indian tradition, rats are seen as the vehicle of Ganesha, and a rat's statue is always found in a temple of Ganesh. In the northwestern Indian city of Deshnoke, the rats"
"Chinese calendar, was the first year of the cycle. The Japanese tradition of celebrating (literally 'return of calendar') reflects the influence of the sexagenary cycle as a count of years. The Tibetan calendar also counts years using a 60-year cycle based on 12 animals and 5 elements, but while the first year of the Chinese cycle is always the year of the Wood Rat, the first year of the Tibetan cycle is the year of the Fire Rabbit (—""dīng-mǎo"", year 4 on the Chinese cycle). <nowiki>*</nowiki>The names of several animals can be translated into English in several different ways. The"
"to the Chinese zodiac. Twelve (12) animals represent the 12 years in sequential order with the rat/mouse representing the first year. Buddha is believed to have invited animals from all over the world to visit, to which only 12 visited. In return, he honored them by naming the years in the order that they arrived. Koreans believe that specific zodiac animals bring specific resources and qualities. For example, the year 2014 was the year of the horse, and it was considered a good year in the money and career aspect of life. It is said that a person born in"
"Cat (zodiac) The Cat is the fourth animal symbol in the 12-year cycle of the Vietnamese zodiac and Gurung zodiac, taking place of the Rabbit in the Chinese zodiac. As such, the traits associated with the Rabbit are attributed to the cat. Cats are in conflict with the Rat. Legends relating to the order of the Chinese zodiac often include stories as to why the cat was not included among the twelve. Because the Rat tricked the cat into missing the banquet with the Jade Emperor, the cat was not included and was not aware that the banquet was going"
"explanation is that the ancient word for Rabbit (Mao) sounds like cat (Meo). Cat (zodiac) The Cat is the fourth animal symbol in the 12-year cycle of the Vietnamese zodiac and Gurung zodiac, taking place of the Rabbit in the Chinese zodiac. As such, the traits associated with the Rabbit are attributed to the cat. Cats are in conflict with the Rat. Legends relating to the order of the Chinese zodiac often include stories as to why the cat was not included among the twelve. Because the Rat tricked the cat into missing the banquet with the Jade Emperor, the"
"per the Vietnamese calendar, but rather the one from 22 December 1984 to 20 January 1985. The effect of this is that the Vietnamese New Year would fall on 21 January 1985, whereas the Chinese New Year would fall on 20 February 1985, a one-month difference. The two calendars agreed again after a leap month lasting from 21 March to 19 April of that year was inserted into the Vietnamese calendar. In the Vietnamese zodiac, the cat replaces the Rabbit in the Chinese zodiac. So, a child born in the Chinese year of the Rabbit will be born in the"
"then ungratefully jumped off at the last minute to cross the finish line first. This is told to explain why the Rat and the Ox do not get along together. The Year of the Ox is denoted by the Earthly Branch character 丑. In the Vietnamese zodiac, the water buffalo occupies the position of the Ox. The 12 animal years vary according to a biquinary year change cycle, which varies according to the 5 elemental changes as well as varying by the 2 yin and yang states. The 1961 - 1962 Year of the Ox is a Yin Metal Ox"
"not used; instead the sky is divided into Three Enclosures (三垣 sān yuán), and Twenty-Eight Mansions (二十八宿 èrshíbā xiù) in twelve Ci (). The Chinese zodiac of twelve animal signs is said to represent twelve different types of personality. It is based on cycles of years, lunar months, and two-hour periods of the day (the shichen). The zodiac traditionally begins with the sign of the Rat, and the cycle proceeds through 11 other animals signs: the Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. Complex systems of predicting fate and destiny based on one's birthday, birth"
"Goat (zodiac) The Goat () is the eighth of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The sign is referred to as the ram and sheep sign, since the Chinese word ""yáng"" is more accurately translated as Caprinae, a taxonomic subfamily that includes both goats and sheep. The Year of the Goat is associated with the 8th Earthly Branch symbol, 未 (""wèi""). The Chinese word ""yáng"" also refers to both goats and sheep, whereas the terms ""shānyáng"" () and ""miányáng"" () also refer exclusively to both goats and sheep respectively. In"
"of Cancer and so on. So the Chinese 12-year calendar is a solar-lunar-jovian calendar. The following table shows the twelve signs and their attributes. In Chinese astrology, the zodiac of twelve animal sign represents twelve different types of personality. The zodiac traditionally begins with the sign of the Rat, and there are many stories about the Origins of the Chinese Zodiac which explain why this is so. When the twelve zodiac signs are part of the 60-year calendar in combination with the four elements, they are traditionally called the twelve Earthly Branches. The Chinese zodiac follows the lunisolar Chinese calendar"
"Vietnamese Earthly Branches use cat instead of Rabbit. As mentioned above, the cycle first started to be used for indicating years during the Han dynasty, but it also can be used to indicate earlier years retroactively. Since it repeats, by itself it cannot specify a year without some other information, but it is frequently used with the Chinese era name (年号; ""niánhào"") to specify a year. The year starts with the new year of whoever is using the calendar. In China, the cyclic year normally changes on the Chinese Lunar New Year. In Japan until recently it was the Japanese"
"been born in the ""Year of the Rooster"", while also bearing the following elemental signs: In the sexagenary cycle, 2017 (28 January 2017–15 February 2018, and every 60-year multiple before and after), is the Celestial stem/Earthly Branch year indicated by the characters 丁酉. Rooster (zodiac) The Rooster () is the tenth of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The Year of the Rooster is represented by the Earthly Branch symbol 酉. The name is also translated into English as Chicken; the characters 雞/鷄/酉/鸡/丁酉/鳥 also refer to the Chicken in general,"
"yet also to be clinging and of a nature resistant to change. People born within these date ranges can be said to have been born in the ""Year of the Goat"", while also bearing the following elemental sign: Goat (zodiac) The Goat () is the eighth of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The sign is referred to as the ram and sheep sign, since the Chinese word ""yáng"" is more accurately translated as Caprinae, a taxonomic subfamily that includes both goats and sheep. The Year of the Goat is"
"Rooster (zodiac) The Rooster () is the tenth of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The Year of the Rooster is represented by the Earthly Branch symbol 酉. The name is also translated into English as Chicken; the characters 雞/鷄/酉/鸡/丁酉/鳥 also refer to the Chicken in general, both the males and the females. In the Tibetan zodiac and the Gurung zodiac, the bird is in place of the Rooster. Sometimes, the fenghuang will take the place of the Rooster. People born within these date ranges can be said to have"
"Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. In Vietnam the Rabbit is replaced by the cat. This combination creates the 60-year cycle due to the fewest number of years (least common multiple) it would take to get from ""Yang Wood Rat"" to its next iteration, which always starts with ""Yang Wood Rat"" and ends with ""Yin Water Pig"". Since the zodiac animal cycle of 12 is divisible by two, every zodiac sign can occur only as either Yin or Yang: the Dragon is always yang, the Snake is always yin, etc. The current cycle began in 1984 (as shown in ""Table of"
"despite the implication of the etymology of the word ""zodiac"". The zodiac traditionally begins with the sign of the Rat. The following are the twelve zodiac signs (each with its associated Earthly Branch) in order and their characteristics. Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water as five nature elements. In Chinese astrology, the animal signs assigned by year represent how others perceive you or how you present yourself. It is a common misconception that the animals assigned by year are the only signs, and many Western descriptions of Chinese astrology draw solely on this system. In fact, there are also animal"
"off at the finish line and finishing first. In Chinese mythology, a story tells that the cat was tricked by the Rat so it could not go to the banquet. This is why the cat is ultimately not part of the Chinese zodiac. In Buddhism, legend has it that Gautama Buddha summoned all of the animals of the Earth to come before him before his departure from this Earth, but only 12 animals actually came to bid him farewell. To reward the animals who came to him, he named a year after each of them. The years were given to"
"making the year beginning CE 2015 the ""Chinese year"" 4712, 4713, or 4652. According to tales and legends, the beginning of the Chinese New Year started with a mythical beast called the Nian. Nian would eat villagers, especially children. One year, all the villagers decided to go hide from the beast. An old man appeared before the villagers went into hiding and said that he's going to stay the night, and decided to get revenge on the Nian. All the villagers thought he was insane. The old man put red papers up and set off firecrackers. The day after, the"
"birth-year. As the Chinese New Year starts in late January to mid-February, the previous Chinese year dates through 1 January until that day in the new Gregorian year, remaining unchanged from the previous Gregorian year. For example, the 1989 year of the Snake began on 6 February 1989. The year 1989 is generally aligned with the year of the Snake. However, the 1988 year of the Dragon officially ended on 5 February 1989. This means that anyone born from 1 January to 5 February 1989 was actually born in the year of the Dragon rather than the year of the"
"season, and birth hours, such as ""ziping"" and Zi Wei Dou Shu () are still used regularly in modern-day Chinese astrology. They do not rely on direct observations of the stars. The Korean zodiac is identical to the Chinese one. The Vietnamese zodiac is almost identical to Chinese zodiac except the second animal is the ""Water Buffalo"" instead of the ""Ox"", and the fourth animal is the ""Cat"" instead of the ""Rabbit"". The Japanese have since 1873 celebrated the beginning of the new year on 1 January as per the Gregorian calendar. The Thai zodiac begins, not at Chinese New"
"the Gregorian calendar, the Lunar New Year begins at the new moon that falls between 21 January and 20 February. The Gregorian Calendar dates for Chinese New Year from 1912 to 2101 are below, along with the year's presiding animal zodiac and its Stem-branch. The traditional Chinese calendar follows a Metonic cycle, a system used by the modern Jewish Calendar, and returns to the same date in Gregorian calendar roughly. The names of the Earthly Branches have no English counterparts and are ""not"" the Chinese translations of the animals. Alongside the 12-year cycle of the animal zodiac there is a"
"stamps to mark the Chinese New Year (or Lunar New Year). Typically appearing in January and February, issuing countries have included China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, United States, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and France. The stamps usually depict the animal sign of that year, consisting of the sequence: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. The designs may be part of a set, or individually designed; for instance, since 1992 the US has been issuing Chinese New Year stamps using a common design type based on colored paper cutouts of the animals. In"
"Ox (zodiac) The Ox (牛) is the second of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The Year of the Ox is denoted by the Earthly Branch symbol 丑. The name is also translated into English as Cow; the characters 牛/丑 also refer to the Cow in general, both the males and the females. In the Vietnamese zodiac, the water buffalo occupies the position of the Ox. In the Gurung zodiac, the Ox is also replaced by the Cow. People born within these date ranges can be said to have been"
"already belongs to the following zodiac (i.e. the Rat). Aside from being assigned a year, the Pig is also assigned to govern a month in the Lunar calendar. As the lunar month cycle begins in spring, the Pig is also assigned to the 10th month, usually the time when winter begins. This lunar month corresponds to the Gregorian calendar as beginning from 7 November, and ending at 6 December. The first half of the month is called 立冬 (or in pinyin: Lìdōng). Literally, it means the ""Start of Winter"". It begins when the Sun reaches the celestial longitude of 225°"
"BC Museum recognized Gung Haggis Fat Choy in 2008, as part of the Free Spirit January 25, 2009 marked the convergence of the 250th anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns and Chinese New Year's Eve. The Gung Haggis Fat Choy Robbie Burns Chinese New Year's Eve dinner took place on Sunday, January 25, 2009, when the Year of the Ox began on January 26. The next convergence of Robbie Burns Day and Chinese New Year's will be in 2020, when The Year of Rat lands on January 25, the 261st birthday of Robert Burns. Gung Haggis Fat Choy has"
"have some similarities (the Mongolian calendar is a lunar calendar). Each year is symbolized by an animal, itself associated to a star of the constellation Great Bear. The first, Dubhe, corresponds to the Rat's year, the second, Merak, corresponds to the Ox and so on until the end of the Great Bear's tail where Alkaid symbolizes the year of the Horse. Then we come back to the first, the Goat year and we repeat the same way until the twelfth and latest year of the Chinese calendar, the one of the Pig. Therefore, the two stars at the end of"
"10-year cycle of heavenly stems. Each of the ten heavenly stems is associated with one of the five elements of Chinese astrology, namely: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. The elements are rotated every two years while a yin and yang association alternates every year. The elements are thus distinguished: Yang Wood, Yin Wood, Yang Fire, Yin Fire, etc. These produce a combined cycle that repeats every 60 years. For example, the year of the Yang Fire Rat occurred in 1936 and in 1996, 60 years apart. Many people inaccurately calculate their Chinese birth-year by converting it from their Gregorian"
"Rabbit, Goat, Snake, Rooster, Ox, Dragon, and Rat are likely compatible with the Tiger, and they can build a harmonious relationship. Also, two Tigers can get along well with each other. Tigers are least compatible with the Monkey. Tiger (zodiac) The Tiger (寅) is the third of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The Year of the Tiger is associated with the Earthly Branch symbol 寅. People born within these date ranges can be said to have been born in the ""Year of the Tiger"", while also bearing the following"
"stem/Earthly Branch year indicated by the characters 戊戌. It is the current year, until 5 February 2019. Dog (zodiac) The Dog (狗) is eleventh of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The Year of the Dog is associated with the Earthly Branch symbol 戌. The character 狗, also refers to the actual animal while 戌, also refers to the zodiac animal. People born within these date ranges can be said to have been born in the ""Year of the Dog"", while also bearing the following elemental sign: In the sexagenary"
"New Year was on Friday, 16 February, initiating the year of the Dog. Chinese New Year is one of the world's most prominent and celebrated festivals, and is the cause of the largest annual mass human migration in the world. It is a major holiday in Greater China and has strongly influenced the lunar new year celebrations of China's neighbouring cultures, including the Korean New Year (seol), the Tết of Vietnam, and the Losar of Tibet. It is also celebrated worldwide in countries with significant Overseas Chinese populations, these including Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, the Philippines and Mauritius, as"
"of the ""Ox"", and the fourth animal is the ""Cat"" instead of the ""Rabbit"". The Cham zodiac uses the same animals and order as the Chinese zodiac, but replaces the Monkey with the turtle (known locally as ""kra""). Similarly the Malay zodiac is identical to the Chinese but replaces two of the animals with the turtle (""kura-kura"") and mousedeer (""kancil""). One of the replaced animals is always the Rabbit, the other being either the Pig or Monkey. The Thai zodiac includes a ""nāga"" in place of the ""Dragon"" and begins, not at Chinese New Year, but either on the first"
"side of the river, the Rat pushed the Cat into the river and jumped off the Ox and rushed to the Jade Emperor, becoming the first in the zodiac. All the other animals made it to the Jade Emperor, while the Cat was left to drown in the river after being sabotaged by the Rat. It is said that this is the reason cats always hunt Rats. There have been various explanations of why the Vietnamese, unlike all other countries who follow the Sino lunar calendar, have the cat instead of the Rabbit as a zodiac animal. The most common"